The Port Ludlow Art League will welcome Julie Paton as the speaker for its program meeting this month.

Paton is a watercolor artist who began her artistic journey studying at the University of Missouri and later created art for Hallmark Cards, the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the country. She found Hallmark to be an excellent training ground, and her time there gave her growing expertise and instruction to further develop her painting and design skills. While at the company, she worked with watercolors and several other media for greeting card products.

Paton left Hallmark after 10 years to pursue freelancing opportunities. Focusing on watercolors, she developed artwork for a variety of paper products, including calendars, scrapbooking, paper plates, and napkins.

At the league’s upcoming program meeting, Paton will describe how she turns her watercolors into artwork for 2D and 3D product lines. She’ll also detail how she creates collections in a variety of formats for multiple product placement and exhibition at the annual Surtex Trade Show, where manufacturers search for artwork for their product lines. She will also talk about how to work with agents, the licensing process, contracts, and copyright applications.

The program meeting will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 21 at the Port Ludlow Beach Club. Guests are welcome to attend the meeting for a $5 fee, and attendees will have the opportunity to win Paton’s promotional gifts.

The Beach Club is located at 121 Marina View Drive in Port Ludlow.

For more information, visit portludlowart.org.